Red vs Blue- War of Chorus
by colesate
Summary: Ever wonder why we fight? One of life's greatest mysteries, isn't it? I'll tell you. We fight for friends. Family. Justice. We fight to eradicate all the bad guys and tyrants. I'd know. I fight for these things. My name is Lavernius Tucker. Here's my story
1. Chapter 1

Tucker stood defiantly as the pirates continued their assault on the door. It was launched off of its hinges and towards the Sim trooper. He swung his sword, cutting it in half. As soon as the click of the pirates' triggers sounded off, the dome shield surrounded Tucker and his friends. Bullets bounced off harmlessly, and when the rounds stopped coming, the shield went down, and the sims returned fire. Tucker ran out. 'Okay, this is like fighting the Texas clones. Easy.' He stabbed a merc in the chest. A bullet bouncing off of his shoulder reminded him that the Texes didn't have guns. He sliced at two more. He turned as another was about to stab him, but Grif was behind the mercenary just in time to stab him with the grenade launcher's blade. Tucker nodded in thanks. He moved onto another target. This merc raised a Battle Rifle at Tucker's helmet. The Sim grabbed the barrel and ripped the gun away, then slammed the stock into his helmet. He flipped the rifle into the air and caught it by the handle. He put up his sword and fired a burst at a soldier. The first round scored a head shot that dropped him, and the other two killed the one behind him. He saw a rocket fly towards him and activated his temporal distortion. Time froze and Tucker ran at the offender, ducking under the rocket. Time resumed, the rocket killed a crowd of mercs, and Tucker tackled the pirate. He punched him out and got up. The fight went on, and the Sims were winning. Eventually the pirates retreated, and Tucker turned to his friends. "Everyone okay?" They all nodded. Doc was regaining control over O'Malley, Simmons was reloading his Needlers, Sarge was making sure the mercs were dead, Lopez was with Caboose checking the mercs' weapons for ammo, and Donut was leaning against a wall. His shoulder and neck were bleeding. "Donut, are you alright?"

"Yeah. I shot a pirate point blank. Guess his blood got on me. I don't mind when liquids get all over me." Donut winced.

"Dude, that's not his blood, it's yours. Guys, we gotta get going. Now!"

"Honestly, Tucker. I'm fine!" Then the lights went out and they felt a sensation of falling as the ship's power went out.


	2. Chapter 2

(A/N: I should add a disclaimer. Erm, I do not own RvB. I'm not that lucky. Also, the only things I own are my OC's and the plot)

The ship tipped forward, sending the sims into a wall. As they stumbled around, Tucker's foot landed on something, causing him to slip. He picked it up and realized it was a Future Cube (cubes of the future)! He activated it, teleporting the group back to the top of the Communications Tower. Hargrove was apparently aware of them leaving, because the Staff of Charon was flying again moments later. The Chairman's voice was heard all throughout Chorus. "You insufferable 'soldiers' have _not_ heard the last of me! I will kill you all, no matter what the cost. You Simulation Troopers are going to be forgotten by everyone. No one will remember the Reds and Blues when I'm finished with you. I no longer have anything left to live for, so I have all the time in the world to kill you. Good day, people of Chorus." The Staff slowly flew out of the atmosphere.

"I am so tired of corrupt organizations trying to kill us," complained Grif.

A groan from Donut got everyone's attention. As Doc and Simmons rushed over to help him, Tucker got on his radio. "Carolina, get those Pelicans to the Comm Tower NOW!"

"What, why?" the ex-Freelancer asked. "And where is the Chairman going?"

"We'll explain _later_. Just hurry up. Donut's been shot!"

"We'll be there soon." Within a few minutes two pelicans were at the Comm Tower. The Sims were put on one, and Donut and Doc went on the other.

"What the hell happened?" Carolina asked Tucker.

"We fought off the pirates and found a teleportation cube. And Donut got shot."

"Why are you wearing Maine's armor?"

"What? Oh! We found it in a room.

"Thank you for that wonderful explanation, Tucker. Where's Church? He's been oddly quiet."

"Oh, right. I forgot about him. Church you there?" No answer. "Church?" Nothing. "Church! Come on, enough games."

"Oh my god, I love hide and seek!"

"Shut up, Caboose," everyone else said.

Churches hologram appeared in the air. "There you a-" started Tucker.

And Church began to speak. (insert speech that almost made me cry because it was so sad and I don't want to write it for copyright and emotional reasons)

-LINEBREAK-

The Sim Troopers and Carolina stared at the spot the hologram had been before it had dissipated. Then Caboose broke the silence. "Ch- church? Please come back..."

"Caboose," said Carolina, "He's gone."

"But-but he wouldn't just leave us!"

"Sometimes you don't get a choice on if you need to leave."

"I'm going to kill every last pirate and the Chairman," said Tucker. (as soon as I wrote that, I thought of Ron saying, "I want to kill Death Eaters," in the last HP book)

"Tucker, think realistically."

"I am, Carolina! I have the Meta's armor! He gave his life to power this damn thing to save us, so I'm using it to avenge him."

"But Church always comes back," said Caboose. "We just have to help him."

"Caboose," said Sarge, "I know you're just a dumb Blue, but know this. Church is dead. He's going to stay that way."

Caboose made a noise that made it sound as though he was about to cry. "Sarge," growled the ex-Freelancer.

But the Red continued. "And he will be avenged! I don't care if he was a blue! I don't care if he was an asshole! He was a soldier-ish, and he was a friend...ish. And his sacrifice will _not_ be in vain.' Shorter than his usual speeches, but it did the trick.

"Yay!" Said Caboose.

"I nearly shot you," Carolina told the Red leader.

"I'm aware." They all heard an explosion.

"What the hell was that?" demanded Carolina.

"Ma'am, the other Pelican just went down!" Called the pilot.

"Donut and Doc," whispered Grif. Another explosion rocked the Pelican.

"We're taking fire!" Called the pilot again. "Brace yourselves!" And the simulation troopers experienced yet another falling ship. Except this one didn't stop falling until it crashed into the base of a mountain.

-LINEBREAKAGAIN-

The pilot shook his head to clear the daze. "Everyone okay? Or at least as okay as you can be after crashing?" Everyone responded with a yes. "That's good!" He exited the cockpit with a limp. He saw that everyone was indeed okay. "That certainly sucked."

"Ya think?" Replied Tucker.

"What's your name, pilot?" Carolina asked.

"Aro Montu, ma'am." Something everyone else noticed was his armor. It was black with a purple trim. His helmet was an EVA and the rest of his armor matched the Sim troopers.

"Who were you a pilot for? Your armor doesn't either army."

"I'm a pilot for hire. Relax, I won't stab your back like those two mercs. Pilot for hire, not gun. But I flew for the New Republic."

"What did you get payed with?" Sarge asked. "Felix said that the NR had no money."

"I got payed the same as him. Alien tech. Unlike him, however, I can fix it."

"So you have working alien weapons?" Carolina chimed in.

"Yup." The PFH walked over to the ship's back, which was missing. "Oh noes. We're not leaving any time soon."

"That means you can answer some questions of mine."

Aro tilted his head at her. "Eh?"

"I want to know more about you, Montu."

"That's either really sinister or really suggestive. I'm not sure how I feel about either one considering you're rep." Carolina got up, grabbed his arm, and dragged him outside, away from the ship. "Please don't kill me."

"Bye Mister Pilot Guy!" Caboose yelled. "He seems nice."

"He's fucked," said Grif.

"In which way?" Asked Tucker.

"Knowing Carolina, it won't be what you're thinking, Tucker."

"Good, cuz I want her first."

"You're disgusting, you that?"

"Yup." Carolina was back with Montu a short while later.

"He's not hiding anything that could get us killed."

"How'd you interrogate him?" Asked Tucker.

"I have my ways."

"Bow-chicka-"

"No," said Montu. "Just... no." They all looked at each other in silence for a few minutes. "So, what the fuck do we do now?"

"What do you mean?" Tucker inquired.

"I mean that we're stuck in the middle of a box canyon. No way in. No way out. Unless you have an aircraft, we're stuck in here 'til help arrives."

"You said we're stuck WHERE?"

"Box canyon."

Everyone was silent for a few moments before Tucker yelled out, "FUCK!"

(A/N: Here, has Chapter 2. I don't have a plot yet, so bear with me. I wont ask for faves or follows, but I do ask for reviews. I NEEDS THE CRITICISM PLEZ. Thanks. Sate out! [casually dissolves into mist then reappears moments later] Also, something I didn't tell you guys is WashLina. Or CarWash. Or whatever the hecking heck it is. Now bye! [casually dissolves again])


	3. Chapter 3

(Meesa not own RvB, its characters, or theme song. I only own the [nonexistent] plot and my OCs)

-AFEWDAYSLATER-

"Monty!"

"It's Montu, Caboose."

"Monty, come here!"

"It's Mon- oh, fuck it. What do you want?"

"Look at this!"

Not actually looking at it, Aro said, "It's lovely, Caboose."

"Can I play with it?"

"Sure." Aro looked up from the weapon he was working on and realized what Caboose was holding. "Wait, no! Don't-!" There was an explosion and a green ball of plasma was launched into the sky. "-Fire it."

"Tucker did it." Montu sighed.

"I'm sure he did."

What happened was Caboose had found Aro's Fuel Rod, and Aro had been messing with a new weapon. So Mr. Montu wasn't paying attention and involuntarily let Caboose of all people fire a plasma launcher. What am idiot. So the ball bounced off of the dirt and into the air. "This is the bounciest gun ever. Of all time."

"Yeah. And now it only has four rounds left. Put the alien rocket launcher down, Caboose."

"Okay!" The blue idiot put the weapon down on the pile of the other weapons."

Aro sighed again.

-LINEBREAK-

 **Roses are red**

 **Violets are blue**

Aro is looking through a sniper scope.

 **One day we'll cruise**

 **Down Blood Gulch Avenue**

Tucker fires a sticky detonator at a tank

 **It's Red vs Red**

Aro stabs a red armored soldier in the chest with an energy sword

 **And Blue vs Blue**

Tucker and Wash are fighting each other, Wash with a knife, Tucker with his sword

 **It's I against I**

Doc is looking at a black A.I. hologram

 **And you against you**

Locus is sniping space pirates from a building then everything goes black

-LINEBREAK-

Tucker slashed at Carolina again. "Stop moving, dammit!" He yelled as she sidestepped.

"Start hitting me, dammit," she taunted as he swung with his energy sword, only to miss.

Another slash. "Swish!" She jumped backwards. Slash. "Swish!" She crouched down to dodge it. He stabbed down at her. "Stab!" She rolled away and the sword stuck in the rock. He yanked it out and she kicked him. He stumbled away. She rushed at him but he slammed his shoulder into her chest, and she tripped backwards into the side of the canyon. Tucker stabbed the sword into the wall when her arm was up against it, putting a blade on either side of the arm.

"Wow, you actually got me. Good job, Tucker."

"Thanks." He pulled his sword away, revealing that the top blade had seared part of the armor away. "Oh, sorry."

"Eh, it's fine. I'd say training is over for today." Tucker collapsed onto the ground after hearing that. The ex-Freelancer had been training him every day since they had crashed to use his sword. The energy kind. Not the other. "Imagine going through that every day."

"Bleh."

"And your opponent is actually trying to kill you."

"I'm used to almost being killed."

"By someone competent enough to do it?"

"Yeah. Felix. Tex. Maine."

"Without all your friends?"

"Oh. Okay, no."

"Exactly. Though out of everyone here, you seem to be the most likely to be a Freelancer."

Tucker sat up. "Wait, really?"

"Don't make me repeat myself, Captain Tucker."

"But I'm just an idiot like the rest of them. Wow, I really just fucking admitted that, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did. And I'm telling you the truth. I may not have been attacking you, but I was actually putting in effort to avoid getting hit. And I've seen you fight. I was there during the Tex battle. You survived the space pirates."

"I had help from friends."

"Sarge told me that you defended that desert temple. And it was done alone."

"Well, I- yeah. I did it alone. Doesn't mean I'm Freelancer material."

"Tucker…"

"Why are we even discussing this? Project Freelancer is gone! Who cares if I'm good enough?"

"Because I wanted to train some of people of Chorus to be as strong as the Freelancers."

"You want to WHAT?"

"I'm not going to do what the Director did. I'm just going to pick the strongest and make them better. No hidden agendas, no A.I. or A.I. torturing. Just simple training."

"How do you know someone won't try to bring Project Freelancer back? What if the Chairman finds out and infiltrates? He might have some of his men join in and destroy us from the outside. And you've seen what these people are like! They're just as incompetent as us!"

"Which is why I want to better them."

"By doing what? Turning them into mindless killing drones?" Tucker stood and left before she could respond. But he was right. That's basically what they had been. Drones. Killers to do the Director's bidding, which they didn't entirely even know.

-LINEBREAKFTW-

Aro loaded another round into the pistol' chamber after he fired the last one in the magazine. A trying dummy was set up, made from branches, ship pieces, and duct tape. Because duct tape is fucking awesome. He fired five rounds into the dummy's head and reloaded again. Though the bullets kept hitting the tree behind the makeshift target because the bullets went through the same exact spot every time.

"Why do you only put five bullets into the magazine?" asked Simmons as he watched.

"To conserve ammo. Otherwise I would be shooting a lot more. And it gives me more breaks."

"Speaking of breaks," said Grif, "my next one starts now."

"I thought you were already on break," said Montu. He reloaded.

"I know. I'm taking a break from that break."

"How does that even make sense?" asked Simmons/

"It actually kinda does," the pilot said. Simmons looked at him in confusion. "Well, if he takes a break from this break, he can go back to it when his break from the break is over, so it technically lasts longer."

"But-"

"But nothing, Simmons. I'm gonna go take my break now." Grif walked away.

"He's so infuriating."

"And you're not?"

"Shut up, Montu."

Aro smiled. "I am too."

Simmons rolled his eyes, but Montu obviously couldn't see it… because helmet. He walked away, probably to do nerdy Simmons stuffs. Tucker walked by, grumbling to himself, and Carolina was only a little ways behind him. The Blue went into the ship, and the Freelancer went over to Aro. "I fucked up," said Carolina.

"Too bold?"

"What? No! Not that! I told him he could have been a Freelancer."

"Flattery didn't work? And here I thought I knew Tucker."

Carolina sighed. "If you make another joke, I will punch you in the balls."

"Just like your mother. Always going for the spot."

"Yeah… Wait. How did you know my mother?"

"Reasons."

Carolina tilted her head. "You look familiar. Well, your armor does."

"Probably the EVA helmet. Considering Maine had one."

Now Carolina was confused. He was obviously hinting at something, but what? "Do we know each other?"

"Well, I did tell you about myself."

"I mean, have we met previously?"

"Hey, Carolina? Let's stop with the questions for now. I wanna spar with Freelancer's best agent. At least, the best while I was around."

(A/N: That's a wrap! Here's me next chapter, friends. Not the best I could do. Not sure if events matched what the character would actually do. By that, I mean Carolina. I don't know if she would want to start training the NR and Feds to be like Freelancers. I also don't know if she would as ignorant I portrayed her. If you know what Aro was implying, let me know in a review. And tell me what you think he was known as. Speaking of his name, I apologize for switching between his first and last. Aro Montu is a name I use when I need an OC for something set in the future. Cole Sate is used for the present, and Ethas is used for the past, usually medieval/fantasy. Just so you know. Which begs the question: If I do a RWBY fic, would I use Cole or Aro? Leave a review, pretty please!)

(P.A/N Thank you, Vixenlovesninjago for that amazing idea! Yes, I know it's only part of the song. I will put the rest of it in the next chapter, and what do you guys theorize about my plans for characters, just by looking at the opening song? Now I sound like an English teacher. I'ma end my long af A/N now. See ya!)


	4. Chapter 4

(RvB is mine! In some alternate universe. Maybe. Me not own it, only OCs and the severe lack of plot)

Carolina just stared at him as his words rang through her ears. 'At least while I was around.' "What do you mean by-?" Before she could finish, Aro tackled her, and rolled away as soon as they hit the ground. "Ow! That's it, you're dead."

"So hostile." She threw a punch and he simply grabbed her fist. "Uh, no. no punching. That's mean." He twisted her arm, and put his other hand on the back of her head, then slammed it into the canyons side. Canyon sides don't like Carolina. She kneed him in balls, and as he nearly collapsed from pain, she delivered a kick to the face. "Like mother, like daughter," he muttered as he stood. She punched at him again, and he ducked. He punched her in the stomach, and, as he stood again, uppercutted her. She stumbled back and pulled out her grappling hook. She fired it at him, but missed, and the claw flew past him. "Ha, you missed!" She yanked back on the device/gadget/thing, and something smacked him in the back, causing him to stumble forward. "What the-?" He looked up and saw her holding the Fuel Rod Gun.

"Tell me everything."

"Well you see, I was born Calif-"

"About Freelancer."

"Oooooooooooooh." He looked around. "I'd rather not. Cuz, you know, Sim Troopers."

"Fine, we'll go somewhere private."

"Good."

-LINEBREAK-

Tucker sighed as they walked away. "Great, another Freelancer."

"We don't know that Montu's actually a Freelancer." Simmons told him.

"You heard what he said. 'When I was around.'"

"Maybe he just worked for the Project. As a pilot maybe."

"He just fought Carolina. And almost won, judging by the sounds."

"You managed to hit her."

"She wasn't attacking back."

"True. Maybe he's just lucky."

"I doubt it."

"You gotta believe something, Tucker."

"Why are you defending him, Simmons?"

"He did get us to safety. And he could have killed us all by now."

Tucker growled under his breath. Then everyone heard a sniper shot go off and rebound of the Pelican. "What was that?"

Another round interrupted Simmons before he could reply. And a space pirate dropped right next to the opening in the ship. Simmons fired his BR at him, but the merc brought up his Hardlight Shield. Tucker got his sword out and stabbed at him, but the blade just bounced off of the shield. Before anything else could happen, a knife stuck in the back of the merc's head. He collapsed, revealing a black and yellow soldier. "Touch my friends," he said, "and die."

"Wash!" Tucker and Simmons yelled at the same time.

"Nice to see you two alive." Another sniper round hitting the ship caused Wash to scramble inside. "Space pirates found you. Luckily for you, so did I."

"Are Kimball and the others with you?'

"Nope. I'm alone."

"At least we got three Freelancers now."

"Yeah. Wait three?"

"Yep. Some guy with a helmet like the Meta's, except the armor is black."

"Doesn't sound familiar. Wait. Are you wearing Maine's armor?"

"Uh, yeah. W-we'll explain that later."

"Um, okay. Where's 'Lina and this other guy?"

"They went to talk about stuff."

On cue, the two walked in. Not that anyone could see it, but Carolina's eyes lit up and she rushed to hug him. "Wash, you're here!"

"Uhhhhhhhhh," he stated dumbly.

"What a family reunion this is," said Montu. "You must be Agent Washington."

"Uhhhhhhhhhhh."

Carolina let go. "Sorry."

"Uhhhhhhh."

"Way to go, Carolina," said Aro. "you broke your friend with the power of hugs."

Caboose walked out of the cockpit, holding a cookie. That he dropped as soon as he saw Wash. "Agent Washingtub!" Aaaaaaaaand Wash found himself in another hug.

Caboose got a pat on the head. "Hi, Caboose."

Yet another sniper bullet reminded everyone of the pirate(s). "I got a sniper outside. I'll be back." Aro ran out, and returned seconds later holding a Binary Rifle. One more shot hit the downed Pelican.

"This guy has worse aim than Church," stated Wash. The mood was killed right there.

"Hey, Wash?"

"Yeah?"

"This Church guy is a touchy subject. I recommend shooshing." Aro took aim. "Got 'im." He fired a shot, and they all heard screaming. "I missed his chest. Got his foot. Foot has been disintegrated." He fired again. "Headshot!" He reloaded. "You'd think that super awesome aliens with super awesome weapons could make a sniper that held more than two stinkin' shots." Aro walked out again. "'Ello? Anyvun here?" A DMR shot hit his shoulder. "Ow." Five mercenaries turned visible, all pointing rifles at him. On had a DMR, two had Assault Rifles, and two had Battle Rifles. Montu raised his hands in mock surrender. "You got me." All five of them prepared to fire, and in that split second, Aro reached down, grabbed five small knives from his belt, and threw them, striking all of the mercs. "Night night."

"And I thought I was good with knives," murmured Wash.

"I learned from watching you," Aro told him.

"Uh, what?"

"Nothing. Let's go before more of these guys show up." They all nodded.

As they left the ship and took cover by the canyon's sides, Wash addressed the Fuel Rod on Carolina's back. "I hate that bouncy rocket launcher. It's the worst gun ever. Of all time."

"Actually," said Aro, "the bounce factor saved Caboose's life. Because I failed to realize what he was holding when I said, 'Yes, you can play with it.'"

"It shot a green bouncy ball. The bouncy ball exploded."

"I know Caboose. Thanks to that, I only have four ammunition thingies left."

They reached a deep cave. "We safe?" asked Grif.

"Maybe," replied Aro. "Possibly." He pointed to the Fuel Rod. "Can I have that back?" Carolina tossed it to him and he caught, before placing it on his back. "Thanks. Now if you'll excuse me, I'ma go get my weapons." He took off running for the Pelican.

"Montu!" called Carolina. "He's gonna die."

"You doubt him?" asked Wash. "Tucker said he was a Freelancer."

Carolina glared at the Sim Trooper in question. "You were listening?"

"Yeah. Not like you would plan on telling us who your new boyfriend was."

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Oh come on, Carolina. If you weren't training me, you were chatting away with him."

"ENOUGH!" yelled Wash. "He would survive better if we helped him as opposed to just standing around talking. So shut up and let's move!"

"I've never agreed so much with a Blue my entire life," said Sarge. They followed Aro to the ship.

-LINEBREAKBECAUSESCENECHANGE-

Aro stabbed a merc in the face and fired into the chest of another with his Binary Rifle. He fired his last shot at a merc aiming at him, earning a headshot. He dropped the rifle, put the knife is his belt, and pulled out his Fuel Rod. The mercs backed up, because any shoulder mounted weapon is scary, even if you don't know what it is. He fired two shots into a crowd, killing all but one, and he winced at the loss of his precious ammo. The survivor got a knife stuck in his head. Then he heard a round being chambered behind him. He turned, and there stood a merc, shotgun aiming at his face… and a throwing knife in his skull. Aro looked to his right and saw his friends. Wash was pulling another knife out. "Knife throw." Aro joked.

"Oh god, it's like Wyoming and his damn knock-knock jokes."

Aro smiled before rolling over to the weapons pile as pirate fired his Battle Rifle at him. Montu grabbed a Concussion Rifle and shot at the guy twice. "Night-" Pew. –"night." Boom. Pew. Boom. The CR was placed on his back and he grabbed and Incineration Cannon. "I only got one round." He took aim at the last group of mercenaries who were backing away slowly. "Not gonna throw away-." He fired it, and the five balls of energy exlodinated the space pirates. "my shot! I love this gun."

"See," said Wash, "he's fine. He only had that one little problem and I fixed it. Now he's okay."

"We want an explanation," said Carolina. "NOW!"

"First, you should you know my name."

"You already told us that," said Tucker. "It's Aro Montu."

"Not that." They gave him a look of confusion. "My name… is Agent Arkansas."

(A/N: Dun dun! Dun dun dun dun! Dun dun dun dun dun dun! There's youses' chapter. So, Aro is a Freelancer. Agent Arkansas. Once I get far enough in WoC, I'll do a story describing his time in Freelancer. I will tell you when he was in now. I don't know when each agent got into Freelancer, so I just took a guess. My guess of the order (of the guys we know) is: Carolina, York, Wyoming, CT, North and South, Maine, Florida, Georgia, Wash, the Triplets, Tex. Technically, Tex didn't actually appear for a while, so she comes last. Ark is after Maine, and before Florida… Beflorida. He left before Wash arrived, which is why they don't know each other. See you all later!)


	5. Chapter 5

(A/N: Me not own. Moving on)

Everyone had some comment. "I told you he was a Freelancer!" Tucker.

"I never met you!" Wash.

"Now I remember!" Carolina.

"Oh my god, he's a chainsaw person!" Caboose.

"Do you have an A.I?" Simmons.

"I nominate you as member of Red Team." Sarge.

"I'm hungry!" Grif.

" **Oh goody, another Freelancer." O'Malley.**

"Everyone, calm down!" Montu hypocritically yelled. "Hang on, who's that?" He pointed at trio of soldiers, one purple male, one pink male(probably), and one female in standard New Republic armor. The NR wearing person had a black trim.

"You're alive?" asked Carolina.

"Yup!" replied Doc. "I think we gained some of Donut's luck.

"We all know I'm good at getting lucky!"

"Shut up, Donut!" everyone but Caboose and Montu shouted.

"I don't get it," said Montu.

"Try being with him for four days," said the NR woman. "You figure out real quick how many innuendoes can be made in such a small amount of time. I'm New Republic pilot, Lana Summers. Any of you boys try to pull something, I will put you six feet under in a heartbeat."

"Oh, I'll make your heart beat," said Tucker. "Bow-chicka-!"

"NO!" everyone except Donut, Doc, and Caboose yelled.

" **I'm annihilating the next person that makes an inappropriate joke."**

"That's not nice!" said Doc.

" **Shut up. It's the appropriate amount of nice."**

"You guys are weird," Summers and Montu said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed.

"What do we do now?" asked Sarge.

"Wash, how did you get here?" asked Carolina.

"Ummmm, Mongoose." Everyone groaned. Because the Mongoose was a vehicle that only held two people.

" **You imbecile! What are we supposed to do, take turns?"**

"I'll gladly sit on someone's lap!"

" **I'm annihilating the lightish-red one."**

"That's pink," said Montu.

"Lightish red!" Donut argued.

"Pink."

"Lightish- "

"Pink!"

"It's- "

"Donut," said Tucker, "I will stab you."

"I'm used to guys stabbing me. And I always survive."

Carolina sighed. "Enough!" she yelled. "Doc, Donut, we're glad you're alive. Summers, nice to meet you. Now let's. Get. Moving!"

"To where exactly?" asked Summers.

"The direction Wash came from. Except we're going to have to walk."

"Sorry," said Wash.

"I'll be right back," said Aro. He went into the cockpit of the ship. When he came back out, he was holding what looked like a teleportation cube, except instead of grey and orange, it was grey and blue. He held it over his pile of weapons, and pieces of separated away, like Forerunner tech usually did. The weapons disappeared in a flash of light and the object closed back up. The three weapons he kept were twin Plasma Rifles and a DMR. He also had a strange handle looking thing on his lower back. It looked a bit like an energy sword handle, but it was a perfect cylinder.

"What's that?" asked Wash as he pointed at the cube, that doesn't even look like a cube, SO WHY THE HECKING HECK ARE THEY CALLED FUTURE _CUBES_?

"This is a Storage Cube. Similar to a Teleportation Cube, except it's just for storage. Kind of like a bottomless pocket."

"Oh. And that?" He pointed at the handle looking thingy.

"That's classified."

Wash huffed. "Follow me. I'll show you how I got in." He led them through the canyon to a narrow slope that led to the top. "You're telling me," said Tucker, "that the exit was here. The entire. God. Damn. Time. GODDAMN IT!"

"Shut up, Tucker," said Montu. "You don't have to yell every time something happens."

"You shut up, _Arkansas_."

Aro turned to Tucker as they all walked up the slope. "Are you pissed at me because I was a Freelancer?"

"Naw, what makes you say that?"  
"Well, I'm not one anymore. I stopped being one before the Project was terminated. So shut your perverted face before I show you EXACTLY why the Director wanted me."  
"Is that a threat, _Arkansas_?"

"Only if you don't stop talking."

"Why don't you make me?"

A Plasma Rifle was in Tucker's face before he said the e in me. Summers stepped between them. "Stop it, both of you. Tucker, was it? Leave him alone. His past is his own. And Montu? Ignore him."

Tucker moved to the front of the group. "Thanks," said Montu.

"He was being an ass. But you can't blame his distrust of Freelancers. After all, the Reds and Blues have gone up against three. And Locus and Felix betrayed them, so that doesn't help the situation."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Didn't Freelancers have A.I.?"

"Yup. Some of them, anyway."

"Did you?"

"I got Upsilon, the calm attribute of the Alpha A.I."

"Armor enhancement?"

"I didn't have one… Legally."

"You stole one?"

"No. one of the Freelancers copied hers."

"Oh. What was it?"

"Hologram."

"Interesting. And the Freelancer you got it from?"

"Connecticut. We were… close friends."

"Oooooooo, just 'friends,' huh?"

"Yeah. Until Agent Texas got her."

"Were you there?"

"No. I had already deserted. I saw a recording of the fight. Carolina was there, and tried to stop Tex, but failed. Connie died as she and the Insurrectionist leader were fleeing in an escape pod."

"That's right, Connecticut was the traitor."

Aro winced. "'Traitor' is a harsh term. She was trying to help. The Director was corrupt. He thought he was doing the right thing, but he wasn't. he needed to be brought down. CT knew what she was doing. I helped a bit, but I was no good to her if I was still a Freelancer. My opinion, not hers. I needed to be out in the universe, not stuck in the Mother of Invention. So, she stayed undercover and I ditched." Aro noticed that Wash had slowed down.

"You knew Connie?" he asked.

"Yeah. Best damn Freelancer we had, if you asked me. She was the second one I met. And, well, now she's gone. Not a day goes by that I don't miss her."

"You sure you weren't together?"

"Yes, Summers. She was with the Innie leader."

"Were you jealous?"

"No. She was only a friend."

"Mhm."

Carolina had been tense the moment CT had been mentioned. Aro had known what she was doing and had helped her? Sure, what CT had done was for good reason, but what else might Arkansas do? Would he turn on them like Locus and Felix? Kill them all in their sleep? "Epsilon," she whispered, "keep an eye on-" Oh right. Epsilon was gone. Everyone was still having trouble dealing with that. It was going to hurt so much to tell Wash. She pulled the black and yellow Freelancer aside. It was time for him to know. "Wash… I need to tell you something."

He stopped. "What is it?"

"Epsilon. He… he didn't make it."

"What? What do you mean?"

"He deleted himself to power Maine's armor so Tucker could use it. He's gone, Wash."

"How many times have these guys lost him and got him back? Hm? A lot."

"It was the Alpha that they got back. Epsilon was just a memory left behind when you EMPed the Freelancer outpost. The Church we knew is truly gone."

Wash stopped. "But… He can't be gone. We always make it out alive. Every single one of us."

"Not this time, Wash. Not this time."

-LINEBREAK-

 **Violets are blue, roses are red**

Summers walks into a room full of pirates and they all look at her **  
Living like this we were already dead  
** Church is shown as a flickering hologram **  
Hop in my car**

Carolina rams a Gausshog into a Mongoose that a pirate is driving **  
It don't have any doors**

Caboose kicks down a door and begins firing Freckles at an unseen enemy **  
It's built like a cat**

Arkansas does a backflip **  
It lands on all fours**

Wash rolls away from a Warthog that tried to run him over **  
My car's like a puma**

Four sniper shots hit a Mantis: BAM BAM BAM **  
It drives on all fours  
** The Mantis goes down **  
Red versus red**

Simmons and Grif are looking through a weird portal-y thing, watching Simmons fight a Simmons lookalike **  
Blue versus blue**

A soldier in armor that is not from Halo watches the group through a sniper that is not from Halo

-LINEBREAKAGAIN-

Tucker was beyond pissed. Here's this Freelancer under their noses, and when he tells them, he's so casual. Then he expects Tucker to leave him alone about it. 'Well, I'm sorry for not trusting a member of a group that's been trying to kill us forever.' Maybe he was being a bit harsh. Maybe.

-LINEBREAK-

Summers thought this group of misfits was weird. Like, really fucking weird. The only ones that seemed remotely normal were the other female and the guy that just showed up. Maybe Montu as well, but probably not. The rest were Sim Troopers. She remembered how stupid some of them could be. She might have been one of the smartest, but she rethought that after listening to Donut talk about Simmons and how smart he was. It could've an exaggeration though.

-LINEBREAK-

Doc was confused. He was still alive. This had confused him for days. **'Just think. Now we can annihilate even more things. Because of our Donut luck!'**

'But that rude!'

' **Shut up, that's the point.'**

'You're mean."

' **I know.'**

-LINEBREAK. AGAIN-

Grif was hungry.

-ANOTHERLINEBREAKBECAUSEIFELTHENEEDTOMAKEAFUNNY-

Aro took out the handle looking thingy and a screwdriver and began fiddling with the handle looking thingy. "Seriously," said Wash when he caught up, "what the actual fuck is that?"

"It's a weapon. That's all I'll say."

"Where'd you get it."

"Stole it from some schmuck during my months at Freelancer."

"You stole a weapon?"

"Yeah. It won't work though. I've gotten it to spark and that's it."

"Maybe I could help."

"Naw, I'm good. No more prying. You'll see it in action soon."

"I love seeing things in action."

"Stuff it, Donut."

"Okay!"

"I meant shut up."

"Oh…" Donut sounded disappointed.

"I'm not sure who makes more innuendoes." Carolina said. "Donut or Tucker."

"Probably Donut," replied Wash. "Tucker is just extremely suggestive."

"Good point. I should know this."

"You know there is that one temple- "started Tucker.

"In some other universe, Tucker," said Carolina. "Not this one."

"If you let me, I'll take you to a whole new world with my big ship."

"I'll take that invitation!" said Donut.

"No, Donut!"

"Lucky Carolina," Donut mumbled.

"We're here," said Wash. While everyone had been talking, absolutely no one had noticed that they had made it to the city. "And don't worry, everyone, the pirates are gone."

They entered, and the Chorans started talking in whispers. _"It's the Reds and Blues! They're back!" "Wow, it's really them."_

An annoyingly familiar New Republic soldier ran up to them. "It's nice to see you back sirs! And, um, ma'ams."

Grif sighed. "Of all people to make it through the war, of course it had to be Mathews."

"It's nice to see you too, Captain Grif!"

"The feeling is definitely not mutual. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go find a fridge to raid." Grif walked away from the group.

"I' gonna go find Kimball," said Tucker. "She'll want to know about our… problem." Tucker left as well.

"He means me, doesn't he?" asked Aro.

"Yup," replied Wash.

"Oh my god, Monty is a Freelancer!"

" **Of course he is, you fool. We already discussed this."**

"I know. I just wanted to make sure you knew."

" **Thanks for telling us information we already knew, Caboose. We really appreciate it."**

"You're welcome!" O'Malley rolled Doc's eyes.

" **Can I shoot this now?"**

"Let's not," Summers said.

" **Buzzkill."** "Come on, Wash. Let's go explain to Kimball what happened before Tucker says something stupid."

"Got it, boss." Carolina and Wash went in the direction Tucker did.

"Care to give us a tour?" asked Aro.

"Sure!" said Donut. "Follow us!"

(A/N: That's a wrap! I dearly apologize, but I seem to have contracted a dangerous disease… writer's block. I've written myself into a hole, which is why this chapter was kinda meh. Don't worry, it'll get better next chapter. I hope. Also, there, TGnat, ya happy? I finished the song. So stop flipping pouting. Plez review, and I'm gonna be bold. Please follow or favorite. The story is long enough for me to ask. Please be nice. Seriously, I got you guys a 2k+ chapter. I may need encouragement for the next one. It won't hurt to click the little icon. Probably. Having said that, Sate out!)

(P.A/N: BTW, I've seen people respond to reviews for other fanfics. Should I do that? Should I respond to what you guys say in public? Let me know!)


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